Control system for washing apparatus

ABSTRACT

Control for clothes washing machine apparatus incorporating means for extending a predetermined portion of the cycle of operation as desired by the user. The control is further characterized by the provision of a main motor reversing control which along with the cycle extending means is incorporated into what would otherwise by considered a conventional washing machine timer or control.

United States Patent 09 Gorsuch 1 51 Feb. 13, 1973 22 Filed:.

21 Appl. No.: 160,590

[541 CONTROL SYSTEM. FOR WASHING APPARATUS I V [75] inventor: Harold F. Gorsuch, Mansfield, Ohio [73] Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation,

Pittsburgh, Pa. July 8,- 1971 52] U.s.'c|....;., ..307/l41.4,3l8/486 51 Int. Cl. ...H02 3/00 -[58] Field of Search ....318 484, 486; 307/141, 141.4

[ 1 f I References Cited' UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,319,144 1 55 1967 Clark ..3o7/141.4'x- 7 3,215,867 11/1965 Mellinger ..30-7/l4l 3,546,557 12/1970 Bowman et al. ..307/l4l X Primary Examiner-Benjamin Dobeck Attorney-F. H. Henson et al.-

57 1 ABSTRACT Control for clothes washing machine apparatus incorporating means for extending a predetermined portion of the cycle of operation as desired by the userfThe control isfurther characterized by the provision of a main motor reversing control which along with the cycle extending means is incorporated into what would otherwise by considered a conventional washing machine timer or control.

9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures This invention relates, in general, to clothes washing apparatus and,'more particularly, to a control therefor.

It is well known in the prior art that the standard low cost control for washing machines does not provide for reversing the main drive motor. In tumbler type washing machines the single direction drive creates load tangling or balling which adversely affects washing action and water extraction; however, heretofore, providing for motor reversal to alleviate this problem generally required expensive relays or contactors;

Additionally, it is also well known that with the ever increasing number of fabrics being developed, itis necessary to accommodate ever changing optimum modes of operation for the washer and to.do so preferably with a conventional timer. Because such timersoperate cam activated switches through an angle of 360, the numberof modes are limited to the number of cams which can be provided on the timer control program and unobtrusively housed in a generally limited area. Further, it has been found that the number of interactingcams and cam switches must be kept at a generally small number in order that the torque required to rotate the cams-remains sufficiently small to permit manual positioning.

The control of the present invention utilizes 'a stan- 'dard low cost washer control to permit reversal of the main motor without expensive relays or-contactors and provides variable lengths of modes of operation asactuated through the control toaccommodate a multitude of different fabrics as well as various load sizes without increasing the" cams or cam actuated switches. of the programmed cycle.

' BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I The'motor reversal is accomplished by the provision, in a'tumble'r washing machine, of'a control incorporating cyclically actuated switches which'serve to continu- DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, especially FIG. 1, I

reference character 10 designates generally a clothes washing machine comprising cabinet structure 11 having supported concentrically therein an outer nonrotatable tub 12 and an inner rotatable tub or spinner basket 13, the outer tub being supported directly by a plurality of stabilizer assemblies 14 and coil springs 15.

The tubs 12 and 13 are provided, respectively, with I openings 16 and 17 through which clothes to be laundered may be placed into the inner tub l3, access to the openings is permitted through a door structure (not shown) which is carried by the cabinet structure 11. Water is introduced into the inner tub 13 by means of a fill valve 18, fill cone and a fill hose 21. The water is extractedfrom the tub 13 by means of a pump 22 and suitable drain hose structure (notshown).

Power for operating the pump 22 and rotating the basket 13 is derived from a conventional motor 23. To these ends the motor shaft is provided with a pulley 1 structure 24 through which the motor 23 is operatively connected to the basket 13 by a plurality of belts 26, 27 and 28. The pulley structure 24 is connected in what is considered 'a direct manner to the tub 13 by means of the belt 26 and a pulley 29. The structure 24 is connected or coupledtothe tub 13 in an indirect manner by means of' the belt 27 which engages an idler pulley 3l'and the belt 28 which interconnects the idler pulley 31 and the tub 13 through an' eccentric pulley 20. A high speed solenoid 32 actuated through a control to be discussed hereinafter, effects a driving relationship between the pulley structure 24 and the tub 13 via the belt 26. This is accomplished by slider pulley 33 moved in response to energization of the solenoid 32. A more detailed discussion of the drive is'shown in US. Pat.

The pump 22 is driven by a friction wheel 34 which is driven by a motor pulley 38 forming'a part of the structure 24. A pump solenoid 37serves to effect automatic ously alternate the direction of the flow of current.

through the main drive motor.

The control further comprises a conventional timer having cam operated switches supplemented by an auxiliary timer and lockout device which serves to render the conventional timer ineffective 1 during any preselected mode of operation wheneverxthe auxiliary timer is employed, permitting continued operation of that mode for an extra period time. The auxiliary timer and the lockout device provide for a variable cycle extension and allow operation of the-machine over the chosen period of time, and at the termination of the preselected time the conventional timer is rendered effective-to again take over control of the machine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of a clothes washing machine incorporatingthe invention;

FIG.2 is a schematic diagram of the control for the machine shown in FIG. 1;

engagement of the friction wheel and pulley .38 at predetermined intervals of the cycle of operation.

Turning now to FIG.-2, there is shown schematically a conventional timer 8 comprising a plurality of switch contacts to be referred to specifically hereinafter. In'a conventional manner, the switch contacts are opened and closed by cams (not shown) rotatively driven in a stepped'manner by a timer motor 56 through a well known motion transfer pawl and ratchet arrangement (see FIG. 3) in accordance with a predetermined program. Power is supplied to the timer via line conductors L1 and L2. The main motor 23 is connected across conductors L1 and L2 through timerswitch contacts 39, conductor 41, and safety thermostat 42 and conductors 43 and 44. The motor 23 which is of the capacitor start. type, has a run winding 46, a capacitor 45 and a start winding 47. The start winding, including a centrifugal start switch 48, is connected-between the conductors 41 and 44 by a pair of switches 49 and 50 and associated wiring. I I j A conventional low cost control for a washing machine is generally shown in FIG. 3 and comprises a latirig cam follower 51.

, 3 by a spring 36 to maintain a cam follower pin 40 mounted thereon in contactwith cam 53. A deformable leaf spring 91, also attached to the face plate at one end, has a free end adjacent a ratchet wheel 92. Arm 35 contacts spring 91 at an intermediate position and with each revolution of cam 53 the arm 35 causes the spring to deflect sufficiently for its free end to engage a tooth on the ratchet wheel 92 and, when permitted to return to its unbiased position, advance the ratchet wheel 92 one tooth, The cams (not shown) for controlling'the contacts of the conventional timer are directly driven by the ratchet wheel. The above described drive train is well known in conventional washer controls. I

Still referring to FIG. 3, the switches 49 and 50 are actuated by means of a cam follower 51 pivotally mounted on the support face plate 52. Oscillatory movement is imparted to the follower 51 by a cam 54 which is also rotated by the timer motor 56. It will be seen from FIG. 2 that as the switches 49 and 50 are continuously cycled by the follower, the flow of current through the start winding is first in one direction and then in the opposite direction. In order to insure reversing of the motor 23, a pause or interrupt switch 57 is provided (see FIGS, 2 and 3) to allow momentary motor stoppage prior'to each reversal.- Pausev switch 57 is cyclically actuated by a protuberance 58 of the oscil- The timer motor 56 is of a conventional type and as shown in FIG..2, is connected across L1 and L2 by timer switch contacts 59 and conductors 60 and 61; In order to extend the cycle of operation as will be discussed hereinbelow, it is necessary to provide power to the timer motor 56 by a path different from that provided by contacts 59. Accordingly, a circuit is established througha conductor 62, water level control switch 63 and timer switch contacts 64, once the tub 13 has filled to the desired level. Another circuit is established through the water level control switch 63 and conductor 61 to energize door lock solenoid 65 and retain the door lockedduring a predetermined portion of the timer cycle. A solenoid 66 connected .between the water level switch 63 and timer switch contacts 64, serves to actuate the fill valve 18.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the cam follower 51 actuates an impulse switch 86. The contacts 67 of the switch 86 serve to establish a circuit through the solenoid 74 of an adjustable timer or cycle stretcher 68 timer switch contacts 69, and contacts 79 of the adjustable tim'er 68 schematically illustrated in FIG. 2.

1 As therein shown, the adjustable timer 68 comprises a ratchet wheel 70 selectively settable, by the user, by means of a control knob 71 (see FIG- 1). The wheel 70 has a plurality of teeth 72, each representing a one minute time interval. The wheel is driven in a stepped manner by a pawl 73 actuated by the solenoid 74 each 7 time the contacts 67 close. The ratchet. wheel is pro vided 'with a detent76 allowing a cam follower 77, which rides on a cam surface 78 forming a part of the wheel 70, to effect opening of contacts 79 to thereby terminate the operation of the cycle stretcher 68 after a .4 of cycle stretcher 68 moving an extension 21 of the armature of the solenoid 80 to an abutting position,

shown in phantom in FIG. 4, with the leaf spring pawl mechanism 91 to mechanically prevent the pawl returning to its unbiased position and thereby preventing the ratchet wheel 92 and cams driven therethrough from being rotated. This maintains the machine in the operation determined by'the timer 8 when the solenoid 80 was energized until the timer stretcher 68 has completed its cycle, opening contact 77 and deenergizing solenoid 80 thereby permitting the ratchet wheel 92 to again be driven by the pawl 91.

The spin and pump solenoids 32 and 37, respectively, are energized through timer contact pairs 82 and 83 which receive power across L1 and L2 via line switch contacts 84 and 85. It will be appreciated that the contact pairs 82 and 83 are automatically closed at predetermined intervals during the cycle of operation by the cams driven by the ratchet 92.

A cam follower interlock is provided by a spring 90 and solenoid 87 actuated latch bar 88- pivotally mounted on the support plate 52 having an up-turned projection 93. Thus with the latch bar under the influence of the spring 90 the' projection interferes with the protuberance 89 on cam follower 51 to maintain the cam follower 51 in aposition unaffected by movement of cam 54 and thus causing the drive motor 23 to run in one direction, determined by switches 49 and 50 being closed, as required for certain portions of the cycle i;e. during spin and pump-out of the water. Ener- I gization of solenoid 87 moves the latch bar 88 to an unlatched position and placesthe cam follower 51 under the influence of cam 54 to oscillate as previously described.

It can .now be seen that there has been provided a control for a cycle of operation of a clothes washing machine in which rotation of the clothes basket is cycli' cally reversed by reversing the main motor and in which the cycle of operation can include an extended mode of operationasselected by the user.

I claim as my invention:

1. In anelectric timer circuit and control for automatically sequencing an appliance driven by a main drive motor to various modes of operation according to a preselected program determining the duty cycle of said appliance, said circuit and controls including a plurality of switch means through which said various modes of operation are energized, first carn means for determining the opening and closing of said switch means, a timer motor operatively connected to said first cam means through a driving mechanism to drive said cam means, wherein the improvement comprises:

means for extending the operative time of at least a portion of one of said modes of operation and including:

manually closable contacts;

'means for automatically opening said manually closable contacts after the laps of selected period of time; and

electrically energized blocking means energized through said manually closable contacts and disposed adjacent said driving mechanism of said timer motor 'to render said driving mechanism ineffective until said manually closable contacts are opened.

2. The timer and control of claim 1 wherein said electrically energized blocking means comprises a first solenoid means, which, when energized abuts said driv-.

ble contacts includes;

a second cam means for determining the opening and closing of said manually closable contacts; means for driving said second cam means including a ratchet wheel and pawl means, and second solenoid means engaging said pawl meansto oscillate said pawl means in response to energization of said second solenoid;

a third cam means driven by said timer motor for moving an intermediate cam follower; and, impulse switch means controlled by, said inter: mediate cam follower to cyclically energize said second solenoid to advance said second cam means to a position opening said manually closable contacts.

4. The timer and control of claim 3 wherein said time extending means is actuated through one of said plu rality of switch'means.

5. In an electric timer circuit and controlfor automatically sequencing an appliance driven by a main drive motor through various modes of operation according to a preselected program determining the duty cycle of said appliance, said circuit and control including a plurality of switch means through which said various modes of operation are energized, first cam means for determining the opening and closing of said switch means, a timer motor operatively connected to said first cam means through a first driving mechanism to drive said first cam means, whereinthe improvement comprises:

means for reversing the direction of said main drive cording to a peselected program determining the duty cycle of said appliance, said circuit and control including a plurality of switch means through which said various modes of operation are energized, first cam means for determining the opening and closing of said switch means, a timer motor operatively connected to said first cam means through a driving mechanism to drive said cam means, wherein the improvement comprises:

means for reversing the direction of said main drive motor, said reversing means including a plurality of reversing switches movable between a first and second operable position for reversing the feed to the start winding of said motor, andrneans for moving said reversing switches from one of said positions to the other II'iClUdll'lg an intermediate cam follower disposed adjacent said reversing switches and controlled by another cam means operatively connected to said timer motor and further including;

a normally closed interrupt switch means for denergizing said motor between each reversal, said in terrupt switch disposed adjacent, and in the path of, a portion of said intermediate cam follower and movable to an open position thereby prior to said cam followermoving said reversing switches to either said first or second position.

7. The timer circuit and control of claim 6 including an electrically actuated interlock means disposed adjacent said intermediate cam follower, said interlock means being controlled through at least one of said plurality of switch means and, when energized, abuts said intermediate cam follower to maintain it in a single position whereby themain drive motor continues to run in one direction. I,

8, The timer and control of claim 3 including means for reversing the direction of said main drivemotor including a plurality of reversing switches forreversing the feed to the start windings ofsaid motor and a normjotor, said reversing means including a plurality of reversing .switches movable between a-first and second operable positions'for reversing the feed to J the start winding of said motor,'and. means for moving said reversing switchesfro'm one'ofsaid positions to the other including a second card means'operatively connected to said timer motor through a second driving mechanism and an intermediate cam follower operatively associated .with' said reversing switches and controlled by said second cam means. I v

6. In an electric timer circuit and control for automaticallysequencing an appliance drivenby a main drive motor through various modes of operation acmally closed interrupt switch movable -to an open position-to de-energize saiddrive motorv prior to reversal and wherein said reversing switches and said interrupt switch are disposed adjacent said intermediate cam follower and operated therebyin response to said third 'l cam means driven by said third cam motor. v

9. The timer and control of claim 8 including an electrically actuated interlock means adjacent-said intermediate cam follower for maintaining said intermediate cam follower ina single position irrespective of the operation of said third cam driven by said'timer motor,

said interlock means being controlled through another of said plurality of switch means.

i a a 

1. In an electric timer circuit and control for automatically sequencing an appliance driven by a main drive motor to various modes of operation according to a preselected program determining the duty cycle of said appliance, said circuit and controls including a plurality of switch means through which said various modes of operation are energized, first cam means for determining the opening and closing of said switch means, a timer motor operatively connected to said first cam means through a driving mechanism to drive said cam means, wherein the improvement comprises: means for extending the operative time of at least a portion of one of said modes of operation and including: manually closable contacts; means for automatically opening said manually closable contacts after the laps of selected period of time; and electrically energized blocking means energized through said manually closable contacts and disposed adjacent said driving mechanism of said timer motor to render said driving mechanism ineffective until said manually closable contacts are opened.
 1. In an electric timer circuit and control for automatically sequencing an appliance driven by a main drive motor to various modes of operation according to a preselected program determining the duty cycle of said appliance, said circuit and controls including a plurality of switch means through which said various modes of operation are energized, first cam means for determining the opening and closing of said switch means, a timer motor operatively connected to said first cam means through a driving mechanism to drive said cam means, wherein the improvement comprises: means for extending the operative time of at least a portion of one of said modes of operation and including: manually closable contacts; means for automatically opening said manually closable contacts after the laps of selected period of time; and electrically energized blocking means energized through said manually closable contacts and disposed adjacent said driving mechanism of said timer motor to render said driving mechanism ineffective until said manually closable contacts are opened.
 2. The timer and control of claim 1 wherein said electrically energized blocking means comprises a first solenoid means, which, when energized abuts said driving mechanism.
 3. The timer and control of claim 2 wherein said means for automatically opening said manually closable contacts includes; a second cam means for determining the opening and closing of said manually closable contacts; means for driving said second cam means including a ratchet wheel and pawl means, and second solenoid means engaging said pawl means to oscillate said pawl means in response to energization of said second solenoid; a third cam means driven by said timer motor for moving an intermediate cam follower; and, impulse switch means controlled by said intermediate cam follower to cyclically energize said second solenoid to advance said second cam means to a position opening said manually closable contacts.
 4. The timer and control of claim 3 wherein said time extending means is actuated through one of said plurality of switch means.
 5. In an electric timer circuit and control for automatically sequencing an appliance driven by a main drive motor through various modes of operation according to a preselected program determining the duty cycle of said appliance, said circuit and control including a plurality of switch means through which said various modes of operation are energized, first cam means for determining the opening and closing of said switch means, a timer motor operatively connected to said first cam means through a first driving mechanism to drive said first cam means, wherein the improvement comprises: means for reversing the direction of said main drive motor, said reversing means including a plurality of reversing switches movable between a first and second operable positions for reversing the feed to the start winding of said motor, and means for moving said reversing switches from one of said positions to the other including a second cam means operatively connected to said Timer motor through a second driving mechanism and an intermediate cam follower operatively associated with said reversing switches and controlled by said second cam means.
 6. In an electric timer circuit and control for automatically sequencing an appliance driven by a main drive motor through various modes of operation according to a peselected program determining the duty cycle of said appliance, said circuit and control including a plurality of switch means through which said various modes of operation are energized, first cam means for determining the opening and closing of said switch means, a timer motor operatively connected to said first cam means through a driving mechanism to drive said cam means, wherein the improvement comprises: means for reversing the direction of said main drive motor, said reversing means including a plurality of reversing switches movable between a first and second operable position for reversing the feed to the start winding of said motor, and means for moving said reversing switches from one of said positions to the other including an intermediate cam follower disposed adjacent said reversing switches and controlled by another cam means operatively connected to said timer motor and further including; a normally closed interrupt switch means for denergizing said motor between each reversal, said interrupt switch disposed adjacent, and in the path of, a portion of said intermediate cam follower and movable to an open position thereby prior to said cam follower moving said reversing switches to either said first or second position.
 7. The timer circuit and control of claim 6 including an electrically actuated interlock means disposed adjacent said intermediate cam follower, said interlock means being controlled through at least one of said plurality of switch means and, when energized, abuts said intermediate cam follower to maintain it in a single position whereby the main drive motor continues to run in one direction.
 8. The timer and control of claim 3 including means for reversing the direction of said main drive motor including a plurality of reversing switches for reversing the feed to the start windings of said motor and a normally closed interrupt switch movable to an open position to de-energize said drive motor prior to reversal and wherein said reversing switches and said interrupt switch are disposed adjacent said intermediate cam follower and operated thereby in response to said third cam means driven by said third cam motor. 